The Internet comprises a vast number of computers and computer networks that are interconnected through communication links, with information being exchanged using various services such as electronic mail, FTP, Gopher, and the World Wide Web (also referred to as the “Web”). In addition to merely providing access to information, the Web has increasingly become a medium that is used to search for, shop for and order items (such as products and/or services) that are for purchase, rent, lease, license, trade, evaluation, sampling, etc. In many circumstances, a user can visit the Web site of a Web merchant (or a “Web store”) or other electronic marketplace that sells one or more items. Once there, the user can view information about the items, give an instruction to place an order for one or more items, and provide information needed to complete the purchase (e.g., payment and shipping information).
After receiving an order for one or more items, a Web merchant then fulfills the order by providing the ordered items to the indicated recipient. Some product items may be available to be delivered electronically to a recipient (e.g., music over the Internet), while other product items (e.g., paperback books) may instead be delivered through physical distribution channels (e.g., a common carrier). Similarly, some service items may be provided electronically (e.g., providing email service), while others may be provided physically (e.g., performing cleaning services at the purchaser's house). The order fulfillment process typically used by Web merchants for product items that are to be physically provided shares similarities with other item ordering services that ship ordered items (e.g., catalog-based shopping, such as from mail-order companies).
Although such electronic shopping can provide many benefits, problems can still arise. For example, in some situations orders are placed by users in error. Such errors could occur, for example, if the user had previously attempted to place the same order, but was unaware that the prior attempt had been successful and so placed the same order again. This problem may occur due to the fact that communications over the Internet are inherently unreliable, for example, with the electronic marketplace having received and processed the order, but the user not having received a confirmation message that was sent from the electronic marketplace (e.g., due to an intermittent communication error). In other situations, such as when a user can place an order for one or more items with a single action, the user may inadvertently perform that single action without intending to cause an order to be placed. Other factors can similarly cause mistakes to occur with respect to placement of orders, such as when a user forgets that they had previously placed the same order, or when another user had previously placed the order on behalf of that user but without the knowledge of the user.
Thus, it would be beneficial to provide functionality to assist in identifying and eliminating erroneous orders, both for the benefit of users placing orders and for electronic marketplaces that fulfill the orders.